Necrofantasia
by Infinity and Zero
Summary: The story of a fallen paladin, who reawakens in the darkness. Asking the question every champion of the scrouge wants answered, but never dared ask. "Just why are we here?" Rated T for mentions of blood and violence.


**Well then,my Warcraft obsession is back and fresh. It's now screaming at me to write something Warcraft.**

**Warcraft belongs to Blizzard. If it belonged to me,LK Arthas x Paladin Arthas would have happened already at some point.**

**The people who watch me for my Elsword stuff must be raging right now. Anyways,shall we begin? This is the story of my former Paladin,whom I ditched for Death Knight. But in my head,I've always imagined it as a fall-from-grace kinda thing.**

**Anyways,onward! (Also,the quote at the start is from the DK cutscene which I don't really remember in full,sorry!)**

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_A hero, that's what you once were. You stood boldly against the shadow, and purchased a new dawn for the world: with your life. But the evil you fought is not so easily banished, the victory you won not so easily held. Because now, a new dawn breaks. This is the hour of their ascension.._

_This is the hour of your dark rebirth._

Have you ever asked yourself who you are? It is not just a simple question of your name of career, but a deep question that goes back to the start of time. I have asked that myself quite a few times, but was always denied the answer.

I've always been bombarded with this message of "just be yourself." But how are you telling me to be myself, when I don't know who I am?

Well, perhaps I used to know who I am. Either way,I don't know anymore. But if you asked me, I would tell you that I still remember that moment I lost my identity. That painful memory is still as clear as crystal..

Well then, let me tell you.

_-flashback-_

It began on a battlefield on a crisp spring day. The grass was verdant green,and the evergreen pine trees in the background standing tall and strong. Birds flew through the vibrant sky, pained with the finest shade of bluebell. Snowy white clouds drifted lazily through the heavens, accompanied by the blazing sphere of radiant gold known as the sun.

The warm rays drifted from the heavens to earth,lighting the clear drops of early dew on the clovers and blades of grass. Small wildflowers were scattered among the grass, and a glittering blue pond was nearby. A refreshing breeze blew through the area, brushing against my heavy crimson and gold armor. The silky blond strands of my hair waved in the breeze, floating behind me.

Ah yes, the very image of a fresh-born Eden.

But this peace would not last for long.

Merely hours later, this fantasy landscape of wonder was charred and ruined. The pine trees scorched with flame, the lake dry and devoid of liquid. Smoky grey filled the sky,covering the once radiant blue and white. No golden ray of warmth shone down upon the desolate landscape.

The grass was trampled, and not a single flower bloomed. The dew was gone, and some of the emerald landscape was now charred black. Glowing red embers were littered along the black areas.

Now then, how did it come to be like this? Well let me tell you.

Young, ambitious, and a thirst for adventure. That's who I once was. At the young age of 14, I had achieved something nobody else did.

I was a proud warrior, a paladin of the light. But even if we follow the light, some of us are just as cruel as the creatures we slay. But I had never thought that I would become what I sought to destroy.

I don't remember the exact number of how many I killed that day. I just kept swinging my heavy adorned hammer, stained with crimson liquid. But for every opponent I downed, three more replaced them.

The endless hordes of undead.

I barely dodged a razor sharp arrow that almost grazed my face, when I was greeted with the sight of a black and silver blade sticking through me.

I immediately fell as the blade was pulled out. The sticky crimson fluid was spilling from the wound at alarming rates, and I laid flat on the once soft grass. I knew that no healer would reach me in time.

So I embraced death, not afraid of what was to come.

Oh, how terribly wrong I was.

I felt my body being carried somewhere before I truly saw nothing but black. But.. I had a dream of sorts, while I must have been asleep. If you could call it sleeping.

The road was a ribbon of moonlight, looping the dark green hills. The moon, a disk of silver tossed in a cloudy stream. The wind was a howling whisper through the shadowed trees, and I was alone.

Standing alone in the road, with nothing before me. In my hand was an evil looking blade. A skull decorated the guard, and it was crafted of a dark colored metal. A blue jewel was nestled at the cross guard,and even the pommel was dark as night. The blade was a radiant silver, slick with blood.

I didn't know whose blood it was. But.. In that dream, I was given a notice on what was going to happen.

My former red and gold armor was gone. Now replaced by a dark colored plated armor. Highlights of softly glowing blue stood out among the heavy ebony plates. A violet colored cape was attached to a shoulder guard, and the fabric snapped in the night wind.

And before me.. Was a mirror..?

When I had taken a closer look at the reflecting surface, I was shocked. My former sunbeam-like golden strands were now a pale silver like the moonlight. Beside me was not my trusty hammer, Light's Judgement, but the blade I had been holding. Now I notice the blue runes engraved into the blade, giving off a pale glow in the dark night. The soft brown hazel of my eyes were now a cold blue, with a gaze of steel.

A light mist-like trail came from the pieces of blue ice. The golden winged circlet I wore was now a dark metal, much like the rest of the armor. The wings were gone,and a blue jewel was now in the centre of the circlet.

I looked down at the blade I was holding. Somehow I could read these arcane runes. Mysterious, but yet understood.

The words were simple,but they all had something to do with the cold.

Frozen, Glacier, Ice, Hail, Blizzard. And the last one, Frost.

Even though I was wearing a heavy gauntlet, I could feel the chill of the blade on my hand, as if I were holding it bare handed.

I raised the blade, to get a closer look. But that's all I can remember, from that distant dream. A dream that warned me of the future.

When I had awoken, I was laying on a cold stone floor. I.. Wasn't I supposed to be.. Dead..? How can I still be alive?

I look down at my hands. The same heavy gauntlets from that dream. And that same dark armor and violet cloak. A few strands of stray hair fell into my face, and.. They were a moonlight silver.

_No.. This has to be a bad dream!_ I screamed in my head. I didn't want this to be real..

"Arise now, my champion. For who you were in life no longer matters. It is now who you are after death that matters."

I was snapped to attention. The voice was deep and thunderous, and reminded me of my worst nightmares.. The fear that nobody is free from.

Then that part got to me.

_'Who you are after death'..._

Does that mean.. I was brought back..?

No.. No.. That can only mean one thing..

_The curse of undeath._

But.. The Alliance wouldn't have such magic. Why would the Horde or Scrouge bring me back? I'm a fallen paladin, not a fallen warlock!

"That's right. You are a fallen paladin. And you, my friend.."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. Whatever was coming wasn't going to be good, and I knew that.

".. Are my resurrected champion. You have the honor of being one of my champions of death."

The words were now like cold silk, wrapping my mind in a darkness to which there was no end. My will seemed to flow away.. Why do I want.. Why.. Why do I want to.. Obey this voice so much?!

I am a paladin.. I had sworn myself to the light.. How.. Can.. This be..?

The speaker had emerged from the darkness. A tall figure, clad in a similar armor to mine. His sword bore a similar engraving and appearance to mine, but his struck fear into my heart. Long silver strands flowed from his head, and I could not see his face due to the heavy helmet he donned.

"Go now,my champion. Sow fear and death into the world. Show no mercy. Your very heart is devoid of compassion and empathy. You will not feel remorse. None."

While I heard the voice, more and more of my will seemed to slip from my grasp. I wanted to obey. And I shall...

"You are now my champion, Death Knight. Take this Runeblade, and serve my will."

My only response, in a raspy whisper, was "Yes,master."

"Very good, now go, and claim your destiny." The dark voice resounded a final time.

I stood up, the heavy plate armor grazing the dark stone. Propping myself up to full height, I walked to an opening. A balcony of sorts, offering a look to the vast landscape.

Raising my hand, a ghostly steed came swooping in. I pulled myself into the saddle,and gave the reins a snap.

The ethereal wings flapped, and carried me off into the distance.

_-back to present time-_

Now do you see what it means? I've left tens of thousands dead, and even more wounded. Who knows how many I have killed inside? These orphans that now live on the street of the cities.. I was more then likely the one that put them there! I had killed their parents.. Yeah, who else could have it been?

Even if I am now free of the controls that bound me to this evil, I cannot repay my sins. This guilt will just follow me, until the day even the undead pass away.

Once a proud paladin, now a fallen victim to the darkness and ascended into undeath. And I was that war machine with no remorse or compassion. When when I broke free, the sins I committed still haunt me.

Believe me, I've asked questions. I've questioned Arthas at every chance I got. I was so curious on why, just why we had to do this? I never realized that we were being forced to do this. To do what we were commanded.

_-flashback-_

_I walked through a dark hall, lit with torches of green flame, and the arches of the doorways filled with skulls. The heavy clang of the plate armor against the cold, hard stone resonated through the building. The green flames burned furiously, casting eerie shadows throughout the hall._

_Pushing open a heavy stone door,the hall ended. And I was greeted with an outlook. Much like an outdoor gathering hall of sorts, except the fact that it was in midair._

_Striding further down the stone path,I could see Arthas standing there,accompanied by his servants. I had just finished a mission, and it was time to report back._

_When I reached the ground in front of him, I took a deep bow. It was the custom, and it's not like we could question it._

_"Welcome back, my champion." Came the deep and ominous voice that would not be out of place in a well done horror story._

_I nodded, then began my report. It was dull, really. Nothing excited had happened on my trip to check if the Scarlet Crusade was moving. Half paying attention and half asleep, I finished reciting the report._

_My mind seemed to have drifted off into space, until Arthas gave me a poke in the shoulder, which brought me back out of my head._

_"My my. Pay attention my friend." Almost like a teacher lecturing a student, I could only nod once more._

_"You're done for the day. Any questions?"_

_These words were practically music to my ears. Well, not that I even heard music any more. I carefully nodded, and he waited for my question._

_"Just.. What is our purpose?"_

_His luminescent blue eyes almost seemed to narrow. "And why do you ask?"_

_I quickly shrugged, putting up an oblivious font. "Just curious I guess."_

_Arthas could only sigh. "That is not a question that I can answer."_

_Without thinking, I retorted. "And why is that?" Putting my hand over my mouth a second later. We never, ever, talked back. And particularly not to Arthas himself._

_His voice almost seemed to deepen ominously in warning. "Remember who owns your soul, death knight!"_

_I sighed and walked off down a set of stairs. A small crowd of other death knights were sitting, most them on the railing. I was surprised it hadn't collapsed yet, given how heavy our armor tends to be._

_I never got along with the others.._

_And yet, we share the same fate and destiny. The same duty._

_Looking out at the bleak sky before me, I could only wonder why he refused to answer my question._

_-flashback end-_

We don't have a free will. The second we rise again.. Our will is no longer our own. Being a tool is all that we are. Expected to obey and never retaliate.

Because that is the fate of a Death Knight.

_"You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."_

How very ironic. I was both. But fairy tale endings simply do not exist in this harsh world.

And I am in the middle of it.

I can't escape from my fate. All I can do now is hope to redeem myself.

_This is my story.. And this is my fate._

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**That... Did not turn out as I expected. Anyways,I hope you enjoyed the story of my Death Knight,and perhaps stay tuned for more! And if anyone is interested in seeing an art of my DK: ** sta. sh/012564aam3du **(remove space) I'm not the best artist,sorry.. Everything in Warcraft is hard to draw..**


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